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The John Lewis Partnership announces £100,000 investment in innovative tech startups WeFiFo and Exaactly

London, 2017-Nov-28 — /EPR Retail News/ — One of Britain’s most iconic and historic retailers – the John Lewis Partnership – today (27 November 2017) announced a £100,000 investment in two innovative tech startups following success in the retailer’s fourth annual accelerator programme – JLAB.

JLAB is the largest retail tech accelerator programme in the UK and its innovation partner L Marks, will match the £100,000 investment from John Lewis and Waitrose, bringing the total startup funding to £200,000.

WeFiFo and Exaactly will receive this financial investment to now grow their businesses. Known as the AirBnB for the kitchen table, WeFiFo is a social hub from West Sussex, which connects home chefs, supper club hosts and professional chefs with paying guests. As a result of the JLAB 2017 win, WeFiFo are now exploring opportunities to host dining experiences across John Lewis and Waitrose branches as well as other bespoke events which could be introduced to more customers who share the same love of food.

Exaactly, based in London, is an intelligent addressing system that aims to put an end to failed deliveries. It allows customers to provide information up front about how to find their delivery address and where to leave a parcel when they are not at home. During JLAB 2017, Exaactly ran two successful trials with delivery drivers, fulfilling orders to customers: the first with Waitrose groceries and their own fleet; the second in collaboration with Yodel, fulfilling orders for Waitrose speciality shops. Exaactly are now planning a similar exercise with John Lewis to explore the potential to help guarantee first-time customer delivery success.

Seni Glaister, CEO and co-founder of WeFiFo said: ‘Accessing the expertise of John Lewis and Waitrose Partners through JLAB was a real privilege for WeFiFo and securing their backing is certainly the most significant milestone in our journey so far. We were inspired by the people we worked with and were very fortunate to discover so much shared purpose and passion. We used our time with JLAB to cement strong foundations and we will now build on these as we enlist the help of the Partnership in our search for and celebration of the country’s most talented home cooks.’

Bea Warner, co-founder and CEO of Exaactly said: ‘JLAB has given us a peek behind the curtain of two of the country’s biggest retailers and an invaluable insight into how they handle delivery. The opportunity to run two pilots across the Partnership has equipped us with the product know-how we needed to make that final mile of delivery even more straightforward for consumers and retailers. The investment signifies a big step for our business as we prepare for a full launch to market in early January 2018.’

Both startups chosen for investment fought off strong competition from 300 other businesses and involved intensive pitch and demonstration days in front of a senior judging panel made up of industry experts from both John Lewis and Waitrose. Waitrose joined John Lewis for the first time this year, broadening opportunities to the food retail sector.

Five startups were whittled down from hundreds of applications and spent 12 weeks embedded in the John Lewis Partnership offices, gaining access to insight, data and senior-level mentors, allowing them to develop their business more rapidly than they would have done by operating on their own.

Paul Coby, CIO at the John Lewis Partnership, said: ‘All our finalists have benefitted greatly from unprecedented access to two of the UK’s leading retailers. The wider scope of JLAB this year has allowed us to bring together some of the most exciting emerging technology, not just in retail but across grocery too. It’s never been more important for the John Lewis Partnership to nurture innovation both inside and outside our business and we are looking forward to progressing this talent.’

Stuart Marks, technology entrepreneur and Chairman of L Marks, said: ‘It’s very easy for corporate acceleration to become an internal passion project, operating in silo in a corner of an organisation. JLAB’s fourth year has produced one of the most ambitious accelerator programmes I have ever been involved in. The John Lewis Partnership has led the charge on corporate acceleration from the beginning and I look forward to the scale and aspirations of JLAB growing even further in the future.’

The three other JLAB 2017 finalists were: Mucho, a smart grocery shopping app which provides daily personalised recipes and enables customers to order ingredients when needed. During JLAB, Mucho trialled their Click & Collect solution with Partners at the Waitrose Bressenden Place branch, based on ingredients for recipes curated from their app and personalised to the user.

Journifi links online and in-store shopping by providing customers with personalised in-store experiences such as tailored personal shopper sessions based on their online behaviour and tastes. Journifi are now continuing to work with the John Lewis Partnership Group Customer Insight team to explore how they can help support the Partnership’s customer service proposition.

BB1 is a data analytics solution that uses customer behaviour to help businesses optimise their ways of working, monitoring an assortment of variables such as customer footfall. BB1 successfully used their data to model the customer flow dynamics in and around the Waitrose Cambridge branch during the day, how this changes over the course of a year and flows around the city if a competitor opens.

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership – operates 49 John Lewis shops across the UK, johnlewis.com, 352 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £11bn. It is the UK’s largest example of an employee-owned business where all 84,000 staff are Partners in the business.

Enquries:
For more information please contact:

Rob Joyce / Alex Neale
Antidote Communications
Email: JLAB@antidotecommunications.com
Telephone: 0203 740 4009

Sarah Henderson
John Lewis Partnership
Email: sarah.henderson@johnlewis.co.uk
Telephone: 07764 676 036

Source: John Lewis Partnership

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John Lewis Partnership announces five retail tech startups for JLAB 2017

John Lewis Partnership announces five retail tech startups for JLAB 2017

 

  • Selected startups include a smart grocery shopping app, a new addressing system and a software which uses artificial intelligence to predict footfall  
  • Finalists will have access to investment of up to £100,000 and 12 weeks’ mentoring
  • Female-led startups set to be strongly represented in the John Lewis and Waitrose accelerator

London, 2017-Aug-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — After a competitive application process, the John Lewis Partnership has selected five retail tech startups for JLAB 2017, its accelerator programme run in association with innovation partner L Marks.

Now in its fourth year, JLAB has become the UK’s largest retail tech accelerator, with Waitrose joining John Lewis for the first time this year, broadening access and opportunities for UK and international startups with the best disruptive ideas in the retail and food services space.

Female-led startups will be strongly represented in this year’s programme, with three of the five companies in this year’s cohort launched by women. The finalists were chosen from more than 300 applications, following a successful pitch to senior John Lewis and Waitrose executives.

The finalists will spend 12 weeks working from the head offices of both Waitrose and John Lewis, developing their ideas while gaining invaluable access to John Lewis and Waitrose resources, as well as industry-leading insight from specialist mentors. At the end of the 12-week programme, each team will have an opportunity to pitch for up to £100,000 in funding in exchange for equity, from a combined fund of £200,000.

The following finalists will begin JLAB’s 12 week programme:

  • Mucho – a smart grocery shopping app which provides daily personalised recipes and enables you to order ingredients when you need them
  • Exaactly – an intelligent addressing system that enables customers to mark any location for delivery, empowering them to get orders anywhere. First time, every time
  • WeFiFo – This digital social hub connects home chefs, supper club hosts and professional chefs with paying guests
  • BB1 – a data analytics solution that uses customer behaviour to help  businesses optimise their ways of working, monitoring an assortment of variables such as customer footfall
  • Journifi – linking online and in-store shopping by providing customers with personalised in-store experiences – such as tailored personal shopper sessions – based on their online behaviour and tastes

Paul Coby, Chief Information Officer at the John Lewis Partnership, said: ‘We’re incredibly excited to welcome a fresh wave of innovators into JLAB this year, and we look forward to helping them fast track their fresh ideas into the lives of our customers. With Waitrose on board, JLAB now offers unrivalled expertise across two of the country’s leading retailers and this has sparked a record number of applications this year. We look forward to supporting and nurturing our five finalists as they shape and develop their products under the guidance of the John Lewis Partnership.’

Stuart Marks, technology entrepreneur and Chairman of L Marks, said: ‘As finalists in the UK’s largest retail tech accelerator, these startups can expect an unprecedented level of support and guidance. The companies enrolled in this year’s JLAB bring together some of the most exciting emerging technology across the fast-moving retail and grocery sectors, and I’m sure they’ll benefit hugely from the industry-leading insight that only John Lewis and Waitrose can provide.’

JLAB will run until late September. For more information visit http://jlab.co.uk.

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK, johnlewis.com, 354 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £11bn. It is the UK’s largest example of an employee-owned business where all 86,700 staff are Partners in the business.

Waitrose – voted Best Supermarket in the Which? Customer Survey 2017 awards – currently has 354 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 64 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop – dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service.  Waitrose also exports its products to 58 countries worldwide and has eight shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. Waitrose’s omnichannel business includes the online grocery service Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine.

John Lewis – John Lewis operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK (34 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership and all 30,000 John Lewis staff are Partners in the business. John Lewis,  ‘Best In-Store Experience 2017’, ‘Best Furniture Retailer 2017,’ ‘Best Homewares Retailer 2017’1, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com stocks over 280.000 products and is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

1Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2017

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter 
www.johnlewis.com/facebook 
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.

L Marks is a corporate innovation specialist and startup investor, building bridges between big companies seeking innovation and disruptive startups. Founded by serial entrepreneur Stuart Marks, L Marks work with some of the UK’s biggest brands, including DPD, John Lewis and William Hill, running bespoke startup partnership programmes across industry sectors, supporting rapid innovation and connecting them with the best startups. Each programme is tailored to deliver real solutions to the corporate partners frustrations and opportunities, as well as creating real opportunities for startups to test and grow their product with a major partner.

Website: www.lmarks.com
Twitter: @LMarks
Enquiries: press@lmarks.com

For more information please contact:

Rob Joyce
Antidote Communications
Email: JLAB@antidotecommunications.com
Telephone: 0203 740 4009

Source: John Lewis

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Waitrose joins John Lewis Partnership’s global start-up accelerator programme

  • JLAB fast-tracks growth of start-ups in the retail space
  • Start-ups to be embedded in John Lewis and Waitrose across 12 week programme
  • Finalists will have access to a microfund of up to £200,000
  • Applications open 28 Mar, enter for free at www.jlab.co.uk

London, 2017-Mar-30 — /EPR Retail News/ — The John Lewis Partnership has opened the call for applications for JLAB 2017, its global start-up accelerator programme, run in association with innovation specialists L Marks. Now in its fourth year, this year’s JLAB sees Waitrose joining the programme, creating the UK’s largest retail tech accelerator and widening the growth opportunities for companies with disruptive retail tech ideas.

The programme was set up in 2014 to help talented tech start-ups fast track their growth by giving them access to John Lewis’s resources and industry-leading insight, as well as the opportunity to apply for funding in exchange for equity. The programme enables the John Lewis Partnership to tap into emerging innovation in retail which will benefit their customers and forge long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with some of the world’s most exciting young tech companies.

This year five to ten successful applicants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves across both the John Lewis and Waitrose businesses. Throughout the twelve-week programme, which commences in July, they will receive support from senior level mentors and free workspace in John Lewis’s head office in Victoria and Waitrose’s head office in Bracknell. Participating companies will also have access to industry knowledge and expertise from across the John Lewis Partnership, as well as specialist insight on the Partnership’s combined range of over 400,000 of fashion, home, food and technology products and services.

Start-ups participating in JLAB will have access to capital from the dedicated microfund provided by the John Lewis Partnership and L Marks. Each team will be eligible to apply for funding of up to £100,000 from the total pot of £200,000, in exchange for equity in their company.

Paul Coby, Chief Information Officer John Lewis Partnership, said: ‘Industries are being disrupted almost overnight and retail technology in particular is evolving at a rapid pace. JLAB enables us to augment our understanding of innovation and partner with these disruptors to offer the next generation of customer experiences. Waitrose involvement in JLAB means we can now provide start-ups with unprecedented access to two of the UK’s leading retailers and ensure we add value to these fledgling companies, in the same spirit of cooperation the John Lewis Partnership was founded on.’

Stuart Marks, technology entrepreneur and Chairman of L Marks, said: ‘JLAB has become one of the best and most advanced retail accelerator programmes, attracting hundreds of hopeful entrepreneurs from around the world. At a time when most large companies are seeing disruption all around them, the John Lewis Partnership has willingly opened up its entire business up to assist and develop startups. We are excited to have Waitrose join the programme and bringing with it their unique grocery related categories.  We expect this to be our best JLAB yet.’

JLAB is focusing on enhancing customer experience and is inviting early-stage and high-growth companies looking to collaborate with in the following categories:

Amazing Food Experiences: There is a growing potential to enhance customer experience in food shopping and food service. We are looking for start-ups which will help us serve food to our customers in more convenient, exciting and innovative ways.

Amazing Store Experiences: We want to partner with start-ups to make in store experiences even more inspiring and individual.

Effortless Shopping: We’re looking for solutions that create frictionless on and offline shopping for customers; start-ups who can help us enhance shopping experiences and save our customers time.

Help Me Live a Healthier Life: We want to help our customers to live well when it comes to their food and lifestyle. We want to find innovative health and wellbeing solutions that can be implemented across online channels and in store.

Smarter Supply Chain: We want to hear from start-ups who have innovative ideas, or solutions to disrupt traditional supply chain practices, from last mile deliveries and farm to fork traceability to smart product IDs and Internet of Things.

Surprise us – Innovations that are so out of this world they can’t be classified.

Applications open on Tuesday 28 March and will close at midnight on 30 April. John Lewis Partnership and L Marks will then select five to ten start-ups to complete the 12 week JLAB programme, commencing in July 2017. The final winner will be announced at a showcase event in September 2017.

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership – operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK, johnlewis.com, 352 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £11bn. It is the UK’s largest example of an employee-owned business where all 86,700 staff are Partners in the business.

Waitrose – winner of the Best Supermarket1 and Best Food Retailer2 awards- currently has 352 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 63 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop – dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service.  Waitrose also exports its products to 58 countries worldwide and has eight shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. Waitrose’s omnichannel business includes the online grocery service Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine.

¹ Which? Customer Survey
² Verdict Customer Satisfaction Awards

John Lewis – John Lewis operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK (34 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership and all 30,000 John Lewis staff are Partners in the business. John Lewis  ‘Best In-Store Experience 2016’, ‘Best Clothing Retailer 2016,’ ‘Best Electricals Retailer 2016,’ ‘Best Furniture Retailer 2016,’ ‘Best Homewares Retailer 2016’ and ‘Best Click & Collect Retailer 2016’1, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com stocks over 280.000 products and is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

1Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2016

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter
www.johnlewis.com/facebook
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.

Media Contact:
Rob Joyce
Antidote Communications
Email: JLAB@antidotecommunications.com
Telephone: 0203 740 4009

Source:  John Lewis

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John Lewis announces micro-location technology company Localz as the winner of JLAB

Micro-location technology company wins £100,000 investment from John Lewis’s first ever startup incubator

LONDON, 2014-9-30— /EPR Retail News/ — John Lewis today announces Localz, a startup business specialising in micro-location technology, as the winner of JLAB, the retailer’s first ever technology business incubator. After 12 weeks of shaping and honing its solution within JLAB, Localz impressed the judging panel and takes home £100,000 in investment as well as the chance to trial its solution with John Lewis.

Paul Coby, IT Director at John Lewis, said: ‘Innovation is at the heart of John Lewis and JLAB, our first tech incubator, has given us a new way to explore the technologies that will change how we all shop in the future. It’s been a hugely rewarding and educational experience, drawing on a diverse group of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives, and we have a very worthy winner who we’re looking forward to working with in the months ahead. I do very much believe that this is what our Founder Spedan Lewis would be doing if he was around today.’

The initial entry period for JLAB saw hundreds of startups apply to take part, pitching their ideas for innovations that could shape the future of the retail experience. In May, Localz was picked as a finalist alongside four other impressive startup businesses: Musaic, SpaceDesigned, Tap2Connect and Viewsy. Over a 12-week period based in Level 39 at Canary Wharf, the five finalists developed their ideas with the assistance of mentors from John Lewis as well as high-profile entrepreneurial figures including Luke Johnson, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners, Sara Murray OBE, founder of confused.com and Buddi, and Bindi Karia, Vice President Entrepreneur banking at Silicon Valley Bank*. The final pitch day on 23 September 2014 saw Localz emerge as the overall winner.

Localz’s technology gives customers the opportunity to take advantage of some enhanced services using their smartphone based on their precise location. It’s all about choice, designed to make shopping easier for those who wish to use it. For example, it could automatically offer to trigger a customer’s Click & Collect order to be picked as they enter the shop to speed up the collection or help customers to navigate their way around one of our shops based on their online wish list.

Stuart Marks, partner in JLAB, said: ‘The quality of entries was exceptionally high and picking a winner proved to be a very difficult process. I am sure all the companies will go on to become very successful but there has to be a winner and in this case we felt that Localz has the potential to become a long term partner to John Lewis and to provide continuous innovation for their customers. We were fortunate to have an exceptional mentoring team who allowed all the companies to achieve their true potential during the time they were at JLAB.’

Tim Andrew, Commercial Director and Co-Founder of Localz, said: ‘JLAB has been an amazing experience for Localz from start to finish. The fact that my father was a Partner with John Lewis for over 30 years gave me a very personal reason to want to be a part of it, in order to try and help the company that supported me and my family when I was growing up.’

He continues: ‘The support and guidance that John Lewis provided throughout the incubation period helped us refine our offering for the European market. They also gave us access to successful entrepreneurs and mentors from diverse backgrounds and industries which allowed us to accelerate our development.’

Localz’s plans for the £100k investment focus on its new UK operations. The company will be further developing its technology in conjunction with John Lewis to support the new generation of mobile and micro-location experiences, and preparing to launch live trials in store. To support these goals, Localz is also looking to hire new talent to work in its London-based team.

JLAB was part of John Lewis’s 150 year celebrations. For more information, please visit www.jlab.co.uk.

Notes to editors:
*The full list of external JLAB mentors is as follows:

  • Luke Johnson, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners
  • Sara Murray OBE, founder of confused.com
  • Graham Clempson, European Managing Partner at MidOcean Partners
  • Dr. Stephanie Hussels, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Full-Time MBA Director Designate at Cranfield University
  • George Berkowski, Chairman of MIT Enterprise Forum UK
  • Bindi Karia, Vice President, Origination and Entrepreneur Commercial Banking at Silicon Valley Bank.

 

John Lewis – John Lewis operates 42 John Lewis shops across the UK (31 department stores, ten John Lewis at home and a shop at Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. As part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership, all of John Lewis’s 30,000 staff are Partners in the business.

John Lewis – John Lewis, ‘Multichannel Retailer of the Year 2014’¹, ‘Best Overall Retailer’² and ‘Best Retailer 2014’³, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com stocks over 250,000 products, and is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. (www.johnlewis.com). John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

¹ Oracle Retail Week Awards 2014
² Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2014
³ Which? Awards 2014

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter
www.johnlewis.com/facebook
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.

Enquiries
For further information please contact:

Brands2Life
Jamie Ivory
Telephone: 020 7592 1200
Email: Jamie.Ivory@brands2life.com

John Lewis
Vikki Speed,
Senior Communications Officer, Corporate & Brand
Telephone: 020 7931 4921
Email: vikki.speed@johnlewis.co.uk

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